EU agricultural minister in Brussels: Fight against deforestation and bureaucracy!

EU agricultural minister in Brussels: Fight against deforestation and bureaucracy!

On Monday, July 13, 2025, the EU ministers for agriculture and fishing in Brussels met for an important discussion about the current market situation for agricultural products and raw materials. Among other things, the focus was on the diversification of protein sources for food and feed.

The Austrian Minister of Agriculture Norbert Tettschnig (ÖVP) brought up an initiative to simplify the EU renovation regulations (Eudr) during the meeting. This initiative started together with Luxembourg and found support from several EU countries. Comfortable demanded comprehensive changes in the law as part of the European Commission's Omnibus initiative, which is under the direction of Ursula von der Leyen.

simplification of the design regulation

The EU Commission has already taken steps to facilitate the implementation of the Eudr. This regulation, which will come into force for all member states, market participants and dealers by the end of 2023, is intended to reduce the administrative effort by an estimated 30 percent. The updated guidelines offer simplified measures for the proof of deforestation -free products and are intended to ensure a harmonized implementation of the law throughout the EU. A delegate legal act will specify and simplify the area of application of the Eudr. In addition, a country benchmarking system was announced, which should be completed by June 30, 2025 at the latest.

Tettschnig expressed specific criticism of the commission's assessment, which provides three deforestation risk levels. He noted that countries with a high risk of deforestation were incorrectly classified as a means and called for improvements in the risk classification.

The role of science and the company

The importance of the Eudr is also underlined by the requirements of the Science Based Targets Initiative (SBTI), which was launched in 2015. Flag companies, i.e. companies from the areas of land use, forestry and agriculture, have to submit specific emission goals in order to meet the legal requirements. The submission of such goals takes place within 24 months of registration and must be checked every five years or in the event of significant changes.

The requirements of the SBTI aim to ensure deflection -free supply chains and go beyond the risk management of the Eudr. By December 31, 2025, flag goals must be submitted via the SBTI Target submission portal.

Overall, it can be seen that the EU Commission is lively on a simplification of bureaucratic requirements, while at the same time the need for a transparent and responsible business practice is emphasized within the framework of the EudR. The current discussion among the agricultural ministers will make a decisive contribution to determining the direction for future political measures.

For more information on the Eudr and its implementation, visit Germany.Representation.Europa.eu Targets Initiative on deloitte.com .

This remains to be seen how the developed proposals and initiatives will influence the agricultural sector in the EU and whether they can meet the challenges of global demand.